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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24176764">i care</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/waituntilnovember/pseuds/waituntilnovember'>waituntilnovember</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Riverdale (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, bret definitely has a thing for jughead, but we don’t talk about that, might make a part two??? bruh idk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:49:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>678</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24176764</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/waituntilnovember/pseuds/waituntilnovember</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>the response is soft and gentle, just like jughead, and something hot and tight coils in bret’s chest.</p><p>—</p><p>aka bret might have feelings for jughead but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jughead Jones &amp; Bret Weston Wallis, Jughead Jones/Bret Weston Wallis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i care</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"how is it that you never try, and yet you do so much better than me?" bret groans, leaning back on his palms. jughead shrugs, a little difficult with his head resting on folded arms. they're both sitting cross-legged on the floor in their dorm, homework splayed out in front of them on the low table.</p><p> </p><p>"don't fall asleep here," bret says as he uses his pencil to jab at jughead’s shoulder and pulls away when a hand comes up to swat it away.</p><p> </p><p>"can't help it. homework tires me out," jughead mumbles, pulling himself upright with effort. he picks up his pencil and starts to twirl it between his fingers as he eyes the mathematics textbook with hooded eyes. immediately, he yawns and flops back down onto the table.</p><p> </p><p>"forsythe," bret complains, "get off of my<br/>
work."</p><p> </p><p>a quiet "no" comes from somewhere beneath the head of dark tawny hair, and bret resists the urge to pick up his english workbook and smack him over the head with it. instead, he pokes him with the eraser end of his pencil and feels a small streak of satisfaction when jughead groans loudly in exasperation.</p><p> </p><p>"let me sleep. don't you care for my wellbeing?"<br/>
"not really, no.”</p><p> </p><p>jughead turns his head and peeks at him with one eye, "really?" the gaze is piercing as it is truly inquisitive, and bret’s breath catches in his throat. he's not used to seeing any type of non-apathetic emotion in jughead’s eyes other than exhaustion or amusement.</p><p> </p><p>bret turns his head, unable to keep eye contact with his roommate. he can still feel the gaze fixated on him, and he shakes his head, opting to return to his homework. as if he weren't already aware of jughead’s presence, a quiet, soundless laugh causes him to feel even more self conscious.</p><p> </p><p>slowly, jughead pulls himself upright and props his head up against his hand, finger tapping his cheek. bret refuses to look away from his workbook.</p><p> </p><p>"you know," jughead starts, picking up his pencil and easily twirling it between his long fingers, "i do care about you. i know you don’t like me that much, but i still care.”</p><p> </p><p>bret feels his heart come to a stop, and his pencil pauses momentarily on his worksheet. the burn travels down his ears towards the back of his neck, and he curses himself for his obvious reaction and his inability to think.</p><p> </p><p>a light tap on his forehead shakes him out of dazed state, and he glances up to see that jughead is much closer than before. not only does his heart stop, but he's pretty sure the rest of his organs have ceased to function properly. jughead gazes at him with hooded eyes, and a hint of a smile tugs at the corners of his lips.</p><p> </p><p>he swats his hand away, still facing downwards as he hides his wobbly smile away from his roommate. jughead huffs a laugh and leans back to toward his own work, and bret finds comfort and sadness with the loss of his warm presence. they work in near silence until he's able to regain his voice.</p><p> </p><p>"i care about you too, or whatever," he mutters, and jughead glances at him curiously. "what was that?"</p><p> </p><p>"i care about you too," bret says and feels the burn more clearly throughout the upper half of his body. he peeks up at jughead, who hasn't looked up from his work, though now there's a small, definite smile playing on his lips and a light flush spreading up the back of his neck. the sight is extremely endearing, and bret exhales when he realizes he'd been holding his breath for the last minute.</p><p> </p><p>"i know."</p><p> </p><p>the response is soft and gentle, just like jughead, and something hot and tight coils in bret’s chest. they share a look with each other before returning to work in silence save for the light scratching of pencil on paper and a pounding heartbeat that reinforces that bret is definitely in love.</p><p> </p><p>not that he would ever tell jughead that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank u for reading !! comments and kudos are always appreciated &lt;3 also, debating on a part two</p></blockquote></div></div>
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